


009 Gold

by Era_Penn



Series: 100 Faces of Tony Stark [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Better, Tony Feels, gold - Freeform, themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 16:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7808764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Era_Penn/pseuds/Era_Penn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony grew up surrounded by gold.</p>
            </blockquote>





	009 Gold

Tony grew up surrounded by gold. He knew gold by its weight and its uselessness.

“Gold, Tony, is too soft, to gentle,” Howard said. “Gold is useless. Hearts of gold are more so. Stark men are Iron, Tony.”

* * *

Tony knew gold by its value.

“The only use for gold, Tony,” Obadiah whispered. “Is in making it appear to have worth.”

And Obadiah taught Tony to twist gold to look beautiful, to make it seem as important as anything could be. He taught Tony to trick gold into being useful.

* * *

Tony knew gold by its metaphors.

Hearts of gold, gilded cages, golden eyes and golden minds. Tony knew he must have the world convinced that gold was a good thing, the way they were always on about it. Tony knew gold.

* * *

Tony knew gold by its appearance.

He recognized the falseness of the necklaces the other college students wore, the scarcity of its reality by their covetous glances at the heavy Stark ring on his hand.

* * *

Tony knew gold by its weight.

Heaviness, which sat on his hand like chains, holding him to a duty and destiny he never asked for. Expectations heaped upon him like the fortune he was born to inherit.

* * *

Tony knew gold by its freedom.

The taste of it on his tongue as he fell through the air only to fly before he hit the ground, climbing higher, higher, higher than iron could ever hope to reach. The relief of it streaming from his fingers to achieve anything he wanted.

* * *

Mostly, though, Tony knew gold by its treachery.

_“Tony, Tony, Tony,” the words whispered silkily in his ears. “You were the golden goose… one last egg…”_

* * *

Tony grew up surrounded by gold.

Somehow, it still doesn’t measure up to the brilliant lights in his teammates' eyes as fire reflects in them, triumphant on the battlefield, Thor’s bright hair a mess and Steve’s still somehow picture-perfect.


End file.
